The Upper Palatinate Tower (german: Oberpfalzturm) is an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

on the high Platte mountain, the highest peak in the Steinwald and in Northern

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

in southern Germany. The first solid observation tower was built in 1971/72 by the Steinwald Nature Park Authority from Steinwald spruce trees. Due to dilapidation it had to be demolished on 1 April 1998. The engineer, Ferdinand Lehner, from Tirschenreuth was then given the contract to design and build a new tower. On 10 September 2000 the new observation tower was opened. It is high and was made of

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

plywood. The contract was let by the town of

Erbendorf Erbendorf () is a town in the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) region of Germany. As of December, 2006, the town has a population of 5,341. The following villages are incorporated into the town: Aschenhof, Birkenreuth, Boxdorf, Eppenhof, Frodersreut ...

. The total cost of construction came to about DM 400,000 and was supported by grants from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, the

Free State of Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total la ...

, the district of

Tirschenreuth Tirschenreuth ( Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border. Geography Tirschenreuth is located in th ...

and the surrounding towns and villages. From the observation platform there are views of the

Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

, the

Egerland The Egerland ( cs, Chebsko; german: Egerland; Egerland German dialect: ''Eghalånd'') is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic, at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name ''Eg ...

, the Stiftland and over the

Upper Palatine Forest The Upper Palatine Forest (german: Oberpfälzer Wald or ''Böhmischer Wald'', cs, Český les) is a mountain range in Central Europe that is divided between Germany and the Czech Republic. It is part of the larger Bohemian Massif and the German ...

External links

Photos from the tower
Observation towers in Bavaria Buildings and structures in Bavaria Towers completed in 2000 {{Bavaria-struct-stub